Georgia Southern women's basketball picked up its first Sun Belt win of the season with a dominating 82-57 victory over Georgia State on Wednesday evening at the GSU Convocation Center in Atlanta.
The Eagles moved to 8-8 overall and 1-3 in the league with the victory, while Georgia State fell to 7-8 overall and 1-3 in the league. The 25-point win was the largest road win for Georgia Southern in the series against the Panthers, eclipsing the 16-point 78-62 win back on January 10, 1991.
Bukky Akinsola canned a three-pointer at the buzzer of the first period to give the Eagles a 19-12 lead at the end of the frame. Georgia State closed to three points, 28-25, with 4:35 left in the second quarter, but Georgia Southern closed out the half on a 12-2 run to take a 40-27 lead into the break.
The Panthers were unable to get the lead back to single digits as the Eagles were able to push that lead to as much as 35 points in the second half to pull away for the victory.
Five Eagles reached double figures on the night, led by McKenna Eddings' 15 points. Indya Green added her fourth double-double of the season with 11 points and 10 rebounds, while Leah Johnson came one rebound shy of her own double-double with 14 points and nine rebounds. Nicole Gwynn added 13 points and Shanti Simmons recorded her first double digit scoring game for the Eagles with 10 points.
Player of the Game
Eddings added nine rebounds and six assists to go with her 15 points in 38 minutes of action, generating an eye-popping +31 plus/minus. She added three steals and knocked down a pair of three-pointers on the night.
Stats of the Game
Georgia Southern had huge advantages in two categories over the Panthers, enjoying a 31-14 edge in points off of turnovers and a 25-10 advantage in second chance points.
Quotables
Head coach Hana Haden on the total team effort against the Panthers
"I'm just really proud of our group for putting 40 minutes together. We shared the ball well and were very unselfish, we executed the defensive gameplan and just showed that intensity and toughness for the full 40 minutes."
On the 25-10 advantage in second chance points and 31-14 advantage in points off of turnovers
"We've had games where we've been good on the glass, but we haven't been able to convert those into second chance points, so that's been a huge emphasis for us. And we were really active defensively. When you're active defensively and creating havoc and you're getting out and getting steals, it's easy to convert those because we had some breakaway layups in there. And it was just huge to get that separation in the second half."
Next Up
Georgia Southern heads to James Madison for a Sun Belt matinee on Saturday, January 11, at 2 p.m. from Harrisonburg, Va.